Contextual navigation menu

ABSTRACT

Systems and methods to generate and cause display of a contextual navigation menu within a GUI, wherein the contextual navigation menu presents contextually relevant interface elements.

CLAIM OF PRIORITY

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.17/734,626, filed May 2, 20221, which application is a continuation ofU.S. application Ser. No. 16/946,488, filed Jun. 24, 2020, now issued asU.S. Pat. No. 11,340,921, which application claims the benefit ofpriority to U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/868,747, filed onJun. 28, 2019, which is incorporated herein by reference in itsentirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

Embodiments of the present disclosure relate generally to graphical userinterfaces, and more specifically to interface elements presented withingraphical user interfaces.

BACKGROUND

A graphical user interface (GUI) is a form of user interface that allowsusers to interact with electronic devices through graphical icons andvisual indicators instead of purely text-based user interfaces, typedcommand labels, or text navigation.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

To easily identify the discussion of any particular element or act, themost significant digit or digits in a reference number refer to thefigure number in which that element is first introduced.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example messaging system forexchanging data (e.g., messages and associated content) over a networkin accordance with some embodiments, wherein the messaging systemincludes a contextual navigation menu system.

FIG. 2 is block diagram illustrating further details regarding amessaging system, according to example embodiments.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating various modules of a contextualnavigation menu system, according to certain example embodiments.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a method for generating and causingdisplay of a contextual navigation menu, according to certain exampleembodiments.

FIG. 5 is an interface flow diagram illustrating various states of acontextual navigation menu, according to certain example embodiments.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating a representative softwarearchitecture, which may be used in conjunction with various hardwarearchitectures herein described and used to implement variousembodiments.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating components of a machine,according to some example embodiments, able to read instructions from amachine-readable medium (e.g., a machine-readable storage medium) andperform any one or more of the methodologies discussed herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

As discussed above, GUIs are a form of user interface that allows usersto interact with electronic devices through graphical icons and visualindicators instead of purely text-based user interfaces, typed commandlabels, or text navigation. Example embodiments described herein relateto systems and methods to generate and cause display of a contextualnavigation menu within a GUI, wherein the contextual navigation menupresents contextually relevant interface elements.

Contextual relevance may for example be based on contextual dataaccessed at a client device. Contextual data may for example includetemporal data, location data, device attributes, media attributes, astate of a user session, as well as user profile data. Accordingly, acontextual navigation menu system may perform operations that include:causing display of media content within a GUI, wherein the menu elementis configured to display a set of navigation icons, and wherein eachicon among the set of navigation icons is associated with acorresponding set of user actions; accessing contextual data in responseto the causing display of the media content, wherein the contextual dataincludes attributes of the media content; generating a contextual iconbased on the contextual data; and causing display of a presentation ofthe contextual icon at a position within the menu element.

As an illustrative example from a user perspective, a client device mayexecute one or more applications to display GUI to present mediacontent. A user of the client device may present media content withinthe GUI, wherein the media content comprises a set of media attributes.The GUI also includes a display of a contextual navigation menu at aposition within the GUI, wherein the contextual navigation menu includesa display of a plurality of graphical icons. The graphical icons maycorrespond to various user-session states, including but not limited toa messaging state, a camera/media generation state, and adiscovery/media consumption state.

Accordingly, each of the user-session states may be associated with acorresponding set of user actions. For example, the messaging state maybe associated with a set of user actions relevant to generating a usermessage (i.e., text entry field, media entry field, contact list), thecamera/media generation state may be associated with a set of useractions relevant to generating content (i.e., media selection menu,filter selection options), and the discovery/media consumption state maybe associated with a set of user actions relevant to searching for andidentifying relevant content to consumer and view (i.e., a search menu).

Accordingly, responsive to causing display of the media content withinthe GUI at the client device, a contextual navigation menu systemaccesses contextual data, wherein the contextual data includesattributes of the media content, as well as user-session state-baseddata. For example, the contextual data may include: location data;temporal data; user profile data; and communication session data. Thecontextual navigation menu system may then generate and cause display ofa contextual icon at a position within the menu element of the GUI,wherein the contextual icon comprises properties that may be based onthe accessed contextual data.

For example, in some embodiments, the contextual icon may includeelements extracted from media content presented within the GUI, orproperties of the media content presented within the GUI. For example,the media content may comprise a display of one or more user identifiersat positions within the media content (i.e., “mentions”). Responsive todetecting the display of the one or more user identifiers, the systemmay generate a contextual icon configured to receive an input anddisplay a secondary menu element to display the one or more useridentifiers from the media content.

In some embodiments, the media content may include a display of a linkto a website (i.e., a URL). Responsive to detecting the display of thelink to the website, the disclosed system generates a contextual iconthat includes a display of the link to the website at a position withinthe menu element presented in the GUI.

In some embodiments, the media content may include audio or video data.Responsive to detecting the audio or video data, the system may generatea contextual icon that includes a display of one or more media controlsymbols (i.e., play, pause, reverse, stop, fast forward, rewind,repeat).

In some embodiments, the media content may include a query, wherein thequery comprises a request for a response, and wherein the response mayinclude a binary response (i.e., true or false, yes or no), a selectionof an option from a radio selection, or a text input. Responsive todetecting the query, the system may generate a contextual icon thatincludes a display of one or more options to respond to the query withina graphical icon presented in the menu element of the GUI.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example messaging system 100 forexchanging data (e.g., messages and associated content) over a network.The messaging system 100 includes multiple client devices 102, each ofwhich hosts a number of applications including a messaging clientapplication 104. Each messaging client application 104 iscommunicatively coupled to other instances of the messaging clientapplication 104 and a messaging server system 108 via a network 106(e.g., the Internet).

Accordingly, each messaging client application 104 is able tocommunicate and exchange data with another messaging client application104 and with the messaging server system 108 via the network 106. Thedata exchanged between messaging client applications 104, and between amessaging client application 104 and the messaging server system 108,includes functions (e.g., commands to invoke functions) as well aspayload data (e.g., text, audio, video or other multimedia data).

The messaging server system 108 provides server-side functionality viathe network 106 to a particular messaging client application 104. Whilecertain functions of the messaging system 100 are described herein asbeing performed by either a messaging client application 104 or by themessaging server system 108, it will be appreciated that the location ofcertain functionality either within the messaging client application 104or the messaging server system 108 is a design choice. For example, itmay be technically preferable to initially deploy certain technology andfunctionality within the messaging server system 108, but to latermigrate this technology and functionality to the messaging clientapplication 104 where a client device 102 has a sufficient processingcapacity.

The messaging server system 108 supports various services and operationsthat are provided to the messaging client application 104. Suchoperations include transmitting data to, receiving data from, andprocessing data generated by the messaging client application 104. Insome embodiments, this data includes, message content, client deviceinformation, geolocation information, media annotation and overlays,message content persistence conditions, social network information, andlive event information, as examples. In other embodiments, other data isused. Data exchanges within the messaging system 100 are invoked andcontrolled through functions available via GUIs of the messaging clientapplication 104.

Turning now specifically to the messaging server system 108, anApplication Program Interface (API) server 110 is coupled to, andprovides a programmatic interface to, an application server 112. Theapplication server 112 is communicatively coupled to a database server118, which facilitates access to a database 120 in which is stored dataassociated with messages processed by the application server 112.

Dealing specifically with the Application Program Interface (API) server110, this server receives and transmits message data (e.g., commands andmessage payloads) between the client device 102 and the applicationserver 112. Specifically, the Application Program Interface (API) server110 provides a set of interfaces (e.g., routines and protocols) that canbe called or queried by the messaging client application 104 in order toinvoke functionality of the application server 112. The ApplicationProgram Interface (API) server 110 exposes various functions supportedby the application server 112, including account registration, loginfunctionality, the sending of messages, via the application server 112,from a particular messaging client application 104 to another messagingclient application 104, the sending of media files (e.g., images orvideo) from a messaging client application 104 to the messaging serverapplication 114, and for possible access by another messaging clientapplication 104, the setting of a collection of media data (e.g.,story), the retrieval of a list of friends of a user of a client device102, the retrieval of such collections, the retrieval of messages andcontent, the adding and deletion of friends to a social graph, thelocation of friends within a social graph, opening and application event(e.g., relating to the messaging client application 104).

The application server 112 hosts a number of applications andsubsystems, including a messaging server application 114, an imageprocessing system 116, a social network system 122, and a contextualnavigation menu system 124. The messaging server application 114implements a number of message processing technologies and functions,particularly related to the aggregation and other processing of content(e.g., textual and multimedia content) included in messages receivedfrom multiple instances of the messaging client application 104. As willbe described in further detail, the text and media content from multiplesources may be aggregated into collections of content (e.g., calledstories, galleries, or collections). These collections are then madeavailable, by the messaging server application 114, to the messagingclient application 104. Other processor and memory intensive processingof data may also be performed server-side by the messaging serverapplication 114, in view of the hardware requirements for suchprocessing.

The application server 112 also includes an image processing system 116that is dedicated to performing various image processing operations,typically with respect to images or video received within the payload ofa message at the messaging server application 114.

The social network system 122 supports various social networkingfunctions services and makes these functions and services available tothe messaging server application 114. To this end, the social networksystem 122 maintains and accesses an entity graph 304 within thedatabase 120. Examples of functions and services supported by the socialnetwork system 122 include the identification of other users of themessaging system 100 with which a particular user has relationships oris “following,” and also the identification of other entities andinterests of a particular user.

The application server 112 is communicatively coupled to a databaseserver 118, which facilitates access to a database 120 in which isstored data associated with messages processed by the messaging serverapplication 114.

FIG. 2 is block diagram illustrating further details regarding themessaging system 100, according to example embodiments. Specifically,the messaging system 100 is shown to comprise the messaging clientapplication 104 and the application server 112, which in turn embody anumber of some subsystems, namely an ephemeral timer system 202, acollection management system 204 and an annotation system 206.

The ephemeral timer system 202 is responsible for enforcing thetemporary access to content permitted by the messaging clientapplication 104 and the messaging server application 114. To this end,the ephemeral timer system 202 incorporates a number of timers that,based on duration and display parameters associated with a message,collection of messages, or graphical element, selectively display andenable access to messages and associated content via the messagingclient application 104. Further details regarding the operation of theephemeral timer system 202 are provided below.

The collection management system 204 is responsible for managingcollections of media (e.g., a media collection that includes collectionsof text, image video and audio data). In some examples, a collection ofcontent (e.g., messages, including images, video, text and audio) may beorganized into an “event gallery” or an “event story.” Such a collectionmay be made available for a specified time period, such as the durationof an event to which the content relates. For example, content relatingto a music concert may be made available as a “story” for the durationof that music concert. The collection management system 204 may also beresponsible for publishing an icon that provides notification of theexistence of a particular collection to the user interface of themessaging client application 104.

The collection management system 204 furthermore includes a curationinterface 208 that allows a collection manager to manage and curate aparticular collection of content. For example, the curation interface208 enables an event organizer to curate a collection of contentrelating to a specific event (e.g., delete inappropriate content orredundant messages). Additionally, the collection management system 204employs machine vision (or image recognition technology) and contentrules to automatically curate a content collection. In certainembodiments, compensation may be paid to a user for inclusion of usergenerated content into a collection, In such cases, the curationinterface 208 operates to automatically make payments to such users forthe use of their content.

The annotation system 206 provides various functions that enable a userto annotate or otherwise modify or edit media content, such as usersupport content received by the user to be forwarded or redistributed toone or more recipients. For example, the annotation system 206 providesfunctions related to the generation and publishing of media overlays formessages processed by the messaging system 100. The annotation system206 operatively supplies a media overlay to the messaging clientapplication 104 based on a geolocation of the client device 102. Inanother example, the annotation system 206 operatively supplies a mediaoverlay to the messaging client application 104 based on otherinformation, such as, social network information of the user of theclient device 102. A media overlay may include audio and visual contentand visual effects, as well as augmented reality overlays. Examples ofaudio and visual content include pictures, texts, logos, animations, andsound effects, as well as animated facial models, image filters, andaugmented reality media content. An example of a visual effect includescolor overlaying. The audio and visual content or the visual effects canbe applied to a media content item (e.g., a photo or video or livestream) at the client device 102. For example, the media overlayincluding text that can be overlaid on top of a photograph generatedtaken by the client device 102. In another example, the media overlayincludes an identification of a location overlay (e.g., Venice beach), aname of a live event, or a name of a merchant overlay (e.g., BeachCoffee House). In another example, the annotation system 206 uses thegeolocation of the client device 102 to identify a media overlay thatincludes the name of a merchant at the geolocation of the client device102. The media overlay may include other indicia associated with themerchant. The media overlays may be stored in the database 120 andaccessed through the database server 118.

In one example embodiment, the annotation system 206 provides auser-based publication platform that enables users to select ageolocation on a map, and upload content associated with the selectedgeolocation. The user may also specify circumstances under which aparticular media overlay should be offered to other users. Theannotation system 206 generates a media overlay that includes theuploaded content and associates the uploaded content with the selectedgeolocation.

In another example embodiment, the annotation system 206 provides amerchant-based publication platform that enables merchants to select aparticular media overlay associated with a geolocation. For example, theannotation system 206 associates the media overlay of a highest biddingmerchant with a corresponding geolocation for a predefined amount oftime.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating components of the contextualnavigation menu system 124 that configure the contextual navigation menusystem 124 to generate and cause display of a contextual navigationmenu, according to certain example embodiments.

The contextual navigation menu system 124 is shown as including an imagemodule 302, a context module 304, a menu module 306, and a presentationmodule 308, all configured to communicate with each other (e.g., via abus, shared memory, or a switch). Any one or more of these modules maybe implemented using one or more processors 310 (e.g., by configuringsuch one or more processors to perform functions described for thatmodule) and hence may include one or more of the processors 310.

Any one or more of the modules described may be implemented usinghardware alone (e.g., one or more of the processors 310 of a machine) ora combination of hardware and software. For example, any moduledescribed of the contextual navigation menu system 124 may physicallyinclude an arrangement of one or more of the processors 310 (e.g., asubset of or among the one or more processors of the machine) configuredto perform the operations described herein for that module. As anotherexample, any module of the contextual navigation menu system 124 mayinclude software, hardware, or both, that configure an arrangement ofone or more processors 310 (e.g., among the one or more processors ofthe machine) to perform the operations described herein for that module.Accordingly, different modules of the contextual navigation menu system124 may include and configure different arrangements of such processors310 or a single arrangement of such processors 310 at different pointsin time. Moreover, any two or more modules of the contextual navigationmenu system 124 may be combined into a single module, and the functionsdescribed herein for a single module may be subdivided among multiplemodules, Furthermore, according to various example embodiments, modulesdescribed herein as being implemented within a single machine, database,or device may be distributed across multiple machines, databases, ordevices.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a method 400 for generating andcausing display of a contextual navigation menu, according to certainexample embodiments. Operations of the method 400 may be performed bythe modules described above with respect to FIG. 3 . As shown in FIG. 4, the method 400 includes one or more operations 402, 404, 406, and 408.

At operation 402, the image module 302 causes display of media contentwithin a GUI of a client device 102, wherein the GUI comprises a menuelement to display a set of navigation icons (i.e., graphical icons),wherein each navigation icon among the set of navigation iconscorresponds with one or more user actions. For example, in someembodiments, the menu element may comprise a set of “static” icons atpositions within the menu element, wherein the static icons do notchange based on context. The menu element may further comprise a regionin which to display a contextual icon, wherein the contextual icon mayvary based on a number of contextual factors discussed herein.

At operation 404, the context module 304 accesses contextual dataresponsive to the display of the media content within the GUI, whereinthe contextual data includes attributes of the media content, as well asuser-session state data that indicates a session state of the user in abrowsing session of an application.

In some embodiments, the attributes of the media content may include oneor more of: elements presented within the media content; a media type ofthe media content (i.e., image, video, audio, web URL); a source of themedia content a sender); graphical properties of the media content; aswell as audio properties of the media content.

At operation 406, the menu module 306 generates a contextual icon basedon the contextual data. For example, in some embodiments, the menumodule 306 may parse one or more elements from the media contentdisplayed within the GUI, and generate the contextual icon based on theone or more elements. For example, as seen in the interface diagram 500of FIG. 5 , a GUI may display media content 504, wherein the mediacontent 504 includes a display of a user identifier 518 (i.e., a“mention”). Responsive to detecting the user identifier 518 within themedia content 504, the menu module 306 may generate the contextual icon512, wherein the contextual icon 512 includes a display of the useridentifier, and wherein an input that selects the contextual icon 512may cause display of a presentation of all user identifiers displayedwithin the media content 504.

Similarly, the media content 508 may comprise a hyperlink to a webpage(i.e., YOUTUBE.COM). Responsive to detecting the hyperlink to thewebpage, the menu module 306 may generate the contextual icon 516,wherein the contextual icon 516 comprises a display of a URL to theweb-page, and wherein an input that selects the contextual icon 516 maydirect a browser of the client device 102 to the corresponding webpage.

At operation 408, the presentation module 308 causes display of apresentation of the contextual icon at a position among one or moreinterface elements within the menu element. Accordingly, the contextualnavigation menu system 124 may present a changing, and context basedmenu element, wherein at least some of the icons presented in the menuelement may be based on corresponding contextual factors.

FIG. 5 is an interface diagram 500 illustrating contextual navigationmenus which may be presented by a contextual navigation menu system 124,according to certain example embodiments. As discussed in the method400, the contextual navigation menu system 124 may present a contextualicon within a menu element, wherein the contextual icon may be generatedbased on contextual factors that include attributes of media contentpresented within a GUI of the client device 102, according to certainexample embodiments.

For example, as seen in the interface diagram 500, the media content 502may include video content. Responsive to determining that the mediacontent 502 includes video content, the contextual navigation menusystem 124 may generate and cause display of the contextual icon 510 ata position within a menu element, wherein the contextual icon 510comprises a display of a media control element, such as a play button.

In some embodiments, the media content may include the media content504, wherein the media content 504 includes a display of one or moreuser identifiers 518. Responsive to detecting the one or more useridentifiers 518 within the media content 504, the contextual navigationmenu system 124 may generate and cause display of the contextual icon512, wherein the contextual icon 512 is configured to receive a userinput, and in response present a display of a list of user identifierslisted within the media content 504.

In some embodiments, as depicted by the media content 506, the mediacontent may include a display of a query, or request, such as the query520. Responsive to detecting the query 520 within the media content 506,the contextual navigation menu system 124 may generate and cause displayof the contextual icon 514, wherein the contextual icon 514 comprises adisplay of one or more response options to the request, or similarly,may simply provide a field for a user to provide an input that includesa response to the request (i.e., a text input field).

In some embodiments, as depicted by the media content 508, the mediacontent may include a link to a webpage. Responsive to detecting thelink to the webpage within the media content 508, the contextualnavigation menu system 124 may generate and cause display of thecontextual icon 516, wherein the contextual icon 516 may include adisplay of a URL associated with the webpage, and may be configured toreceive a user input, and responsive to the user input, causes a browserof the client device 102 to navigate to a webpage associated with thelink depicted in the media content 508.

Software Architecture

FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating an example software architecture606, which may be used in conjunction with various hardwarearchitectures herein described. FIG. 6 is a non-limiting example of asoftware architecture and it will be appreciated that many otherarchitectures may be implemented to facilitate the functionalitydescribed herein. The software architecture 606 may execute on hardwaresuch as the machine 800 of FIG. 8 that includes, among other things,processors 804, memory 814, and I/O components 818. A representativehardware layer 652 is illustrated and can represent, for example, themachine 600 of FIG. 6 . The representative hardware layer 652 includes aprocessing unit 654 having associated executable instructions 604.Executable instructions 604 represent the executable instructions of thesoftware architecture 606, including implementation of the methods,components and so forth described herein. The hardware layer 652 alsoincludes memory and/or storage modules memory/storage 656, which alsohave executable instructions 604. The hardware layer 652 may alsocomprise other hardware 658.

In the example architecture of FIG. 6 , the software architecture 606may be conceptualized as a stack of layers where each layer providesparticular functionality. For example, the software architecture 606 mayinclude layers such as an operating system 602, libraries 620,applications 616 and a presentation layer 614. Operationally, theapplications 616 and/or other components within the layers may invokeapplication programming interface (API) API calls 608 through thesoftware stack and receive a response as in response to the API calls608. The layers illustrated are representative in nature and not allsoftware architectures have all layers. For example, some mobile orspecial purpose operating systems may not provide aframeworks/middleware 618, while others may provide such a layer. Othersoftware architectures may include additional or different layers.

The operating system 602 may manage hardware resources and providecommon services. The operating system 602 may include, for example, akernel 622, services 624 and drivers 626. The kernel 622 may act as anabstraction layer between the hardware and the other software layers.For example, the kernel 622 may be responsible for memory management,processor management (e.g., scheduling), component management,networking, security settings, and so on. The services 624 may provideother common services for the other software layers. The drivers 626 areresponsible for controlling or interfacing with the underlying hardware.For instance, the drivers 626 include display drivers, camera drivers,Bluetooth® drivers, flash memory drivers, serial communication drivers(e.g., Universal Serial Bus (USB) drivers), Wi-Fi® drivers, audiodrivers, power management drivers, and so forth depending on thehardware configuration.

The libraries 620 provide a common infrastructure that is used by theapplications 616 and/or other components and/or layers. The libraries620 provide functionality that allows other software components toperform tasks in an easier fashion than to interface directly with theunderlying operating system 602 functionality (e.g., kernel 622,services 624 and/or drivers 626). The libraries 620 may include systemlibraries 644 (e.g., C standard library) that may provide functions suchas memory allocation functions, string manipulation functions,mathematical functions, and the like. In addition, the libraries 620 mayinclude API libraries 646 such as media libraries libraries to supportpresentation and manipulation of various media format such as MPREG4,H.264, MP3, AAC, AMR, JPG, PNG), graphics libraries (e.g., an OpenGLframework that may be used to render 2D and 3D in a graphic content on adisplay), database libraries (e.g., SQLite that may provide variousrelational database functions), web libraries (e.g., WebKit that mayprovide web browsing functionality), and the like. The libraries 620 mayalso include a wide variety of other libraries 648 to provide many otherAPIs to the applications 616 and other software components/modules.

The frameworks/middleware 618 (also sometimes referred to as middleware)provide a higher-level common infrastructure that may be used by theapplications 616 and/or other software components/modules. For example,the frameworks/middleware 618 may provide various graphic user interface(GUI) functions, high-level resource management, high-level locationservices, and so forth. The frameworks/middleware 618 may provide abroad spectrum of other APIs that may be utilized by the applications616 and/or other software components/modules, some of which may bespecific to a particular operating system 602 or platform.

The applications 616 include built-in applications 638 and/orthird-party applications 640. Examples of representative built-inapplications 638 may include, but are not limited to, a contactsapplication, a browser application, a book reader application, alocation application, a media application, a messaging application,and/or a game application. Third-party applications 640 may include anapplication developed using the ANDROID™ or IOS™ software developmentkit (SDK) by an entity other than the vendor of the particular platform,and may be mobile software running on a mobile operating system such asIOS™, ANDROID™, WINDOWS® Phone, or other mobile operating systems. Thethird-party applications 640 may invoke the API calls 608 provided bythe mobile operating system (such as operating system 602) to facilitatefunctionality described herein.

The applications 616 may use built in operating system functions (e.g.,kernel 622, services 624 and/or drivers 626), libraries 620, andframeworks/middleware 618 to create user interfaces to interact withusers of the system, Alternatively, or additionally, in some systemsinteractions with a user may occur through a presentation layer, such aspresentation layer 614. In these systems, the applicationlcomponent“logic” can be separated from the aspects of the application/componentthat interact with a user.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating components of a machine 800,according to some example embodiments, able to read instructions from amachine-readable medium (e.g., a machine-readable storage medium) andperform any one or more of the methodologies discussed herein.Specifically, FIG. 8 shows a diagrammatic representation of the machine800 in the example form of a computer system, within which instructions810 (e.g., software, a program, an application, an applet, an app, orother executable code) for causing the machine 800 to perform any one ormore of the methodologies discussed herein may be executed. As such, theinstructions 810 may be used to implement modules or componentsdescribed herein. The instructions 810 transform the general,non-programmed machine 800 into a particular machine 800 programmed tocarry out the described and illustrated functions in the mannerdescribed. In alternative embodiments, the machine 800 operates as astandalone device or may be coupled (e.g., networked) to other machines.In a networked deployment, the machine 800 may operate in the capacityof a server machine or a client machine in a server-client networkenvironment, or as a peer machine in a peer-to-peer (or distributed)network environment. The machine 800 may comprise, but not be limitedto, a server computer, a client computer, a personal computer (PC), atablet computer, a laptop computer, a netbook, a set-top box (STB), apersonal digital assistant (PDA), an entertainment media system, acellular telephone, a smart phone, a mobile device, a wearable device(e, g., a smart watch), a smart home device (e.g., a smart appliance),other smart devices, a web appliance, a network router, a networkswitch, a network bridge, or any machine capable of executing theinstructions 810, sequentially or otherwise, that specify actions to betaken by machine 800. Further, while only a single machine 800 isillustrated, the term “machine” shall also be taken to include acollection of machines that individually or jointly execute theinstructions 810 to perform any one or more of the methodologiesdiscussed herein.

The machine 800 may include processors 804, memory memory/storage 806,and I/O components 818, which may be configured to communicate with eachother such as via a bus 802. The memory/storage 806 may include a memory814, such as a main memory, or other memory storage, and a storage unit816, both accessible to the processors 804 such as via the bus 802. Thestorage unit 816 and memory 814 store the instructions 810 embodying anyone or more of the methodologies or functions described herein. Theinstructions 810 may also reside, completely or partially, within thememory 814, within the storage unit 816, within at least one of theprocessors 804 (e,g., within the processor's cache memory), or anysuitable combination thereof, during execution thereof by the machine800. Accordingly, the memory 814, the storage unit 816, and the memoryof processors 804 are examples of machine-readable media.

The I/O components 818 may include a wide variety of components toreceive input, provide output, produce output, transmit information,exchange information, capture measurements, and so on. The specific I/Ocomponents 818 that are included in a particular machine 800 will dependon the type of machine. For example, portable machines such as mobilephones will likely include a touch input device or other such inputmechanisms, while a headless server machine will likely not include sucha touch input device. It will be appreciated that the I/O components 818may include many other components that are not shown in FIG. 8 . The I/Ocomponents 818 are grouped according to functionality merely forsimplifying the following discussion and the grouping is in no waylimiting. In various example embodiments, the 110 components 818 mayinclude output components 826 and input components 828. The outputcomponents 826 may include visual components (e,g., a display such as aplasma display panel (PDP), a light emitting diode (LED) display, aliquid crystal display (LCD), a projector, or a cathode ray tube (CRT)),acoustic components (e.g., speakers), haptic components (e.g., avibratory motor, resistance mechanisms), other signal generators, and soforth. The input components 828 may include alphanumeric inputcomponents (e.g., a keyboard, a touch screen configured to receivealphanumeric input, a photo-optical keyboard, or other alphanumericinput components), point based input components (e.g., a mouse, atouchpad, a trackball, a joystick, a motion sensor, or other pointinginstrument), tactile input components (e.g., a physical button, a touchscreen that provides location and/or force of touches or touch gestures,or other tactile input components), audio input components (e.g., amicrophone), and the like.

In further example embodiments, the I/O components 818 may includebiometric components 830, motion components 834, environmentalenvironment components 836, or position components 838 among a widearray of other components. For example, the biometric components 830 mayinclude components to detect expressions (e.g., hand expressions, facialexpressions, vocal expressions, body gestures, or eye tracking), measurebiosignals (e.g., blood pressure, heart rate, body temperature,perspiration, or brain waves), identify a person (e.g., voiceidentification, retinal identification, facial identification,fingerprint identification, or electroencephalogram basedidentification), and the like. The motion components 834 may includeacceleration sensor components (e.g., accelerometer gravitation sensorcomponents, rotation sensor components (e.g., gyroscope), and so forth.The environment components 836 may include, for example, illuminationsensor components (e.g., photometer), temperature sensor components(e.g., one or more theimometer that detect ambient temperature),humidity sensor components, pressure sensor components (e.g.,barometer), acoustic sensor components (e.g., one or more microphonesthat detect background noise), proximity sensor components (e.g.,infrared sensors that detect nearby objects), gas sensors gas detectionsensors to detection concentrations of hazardous gases for safety or tomeasure pollutants in the atmosphere), or other components that mayprovide indications, measurements, or signals corresponding to asurrounding physical environment. The position components 838 mayinclude location sensor components (e.g., a Global Position system (GPS)receiver component), altitude sensor components (e.g., altimeters orbarometers that detect air pressure from which altitude may be derived),orientation sensor components (e.g., magnetometers), and the like.

Communication may be implemented using a wide variety of technologies.The I/O components 818 may include communication components 840 operableto couple the machine 800 to a network 832 or devices 820 via coupling822 and coupling 824 respectively. For example, the communicationcomponents 840 may include a network interface component or othersuitable device to interface with the network 832. In further examples,communication components 840 may include wired communication components,wireless communication components, cellular communication components,Near Field Communication (NFC) components, Bluetooth® components (e.g.,Bluetooth® Low Energy), Wi-Fi® components, and other communicationcomponents to provide communication via other modalities. The devices820 may be another machine or any of a wide variety of peripheraldevices (e.g., a peripheral device coupled via a Universal Serial Bus(USB)).

Moreover, the communication components 840 may detect identifiers orinclude components operable to detect identifiers. For example, thecommunication components 840 may include Radio Frequency identification(RFID) tag reader components, NFC smart tag detection components,optical reader components (e.g., an optical sensor to detectone-dimensional bar codes such as Universal Product Code (UPC) bar code,multi-dimensional bar codes such as Quick Response (QR) code, Azteccode, Data Matrix, Dataglyph, MaxiCode, PDF417, Ultra Code, UCC RSS-2Dbar code, and other optical codes), or acoustic detection components(e.g., microphones to identify tagged audio signals). In addition, avariety of information may be derived via the communication components840, such as, location via Internet Protocol (IP) geo-location, locationvia Wi-Fi® signal triangulation, location via detecting a NFC beaconsignal that may indicate a particular location, and so forth.

Glossary

“CARRIER SIGNAL” in this context refers to any intangible medium that iscapable of storing, encoding, or carrying instructions for execution bythe machine, and includes digital or analog communications signals orother intangible medium to facilitate communication of suchinstructions. Instructions may be transmitted or received over thenetwork using a transmission medium via a network interface device andusing any one of a number of well-known transfer protocols.

“CLIENT DEVICE” in this context refers to any machine that interfaces toa communications network to obtain resources from one or more serversystems or other client devices. A client device may be, but is notlimited to, a mobile phone, desktop computer, laptop, portable digitalassistants (PDAs), smart phones, tablets, ultra books, netbooks,laptops, multi-processor systems, microprocessor-based or programmableconsumer electronics, game consoles, set-top boxes, or any othercommunication device that a user may use to access a network.

“COMMUNICATIONS NETWORK” in this context refers to one or more portionsof a network that may be an ad hoc network, an intranet, an extranet, avirtual private network (VPN), a local area network (LAN), a wirelessLAN (N/LAN), a wide area network (WAN), a wireless WAN (WWAN), ametropolitan area network (MAN), the Internet, a portion of theInternet, a portion of the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN), aplain old telephone service (POTS) network, a cellular telephonenetwork, a wireless network, a Wi-Fi® network, another type of network,or a combination of two or more such networks. For example, a network ora portion of a network may include a wireless or cellular network andthe coupling may be a Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) connection, aGlobal System for Mobile communications (GSM) connection, or other typeof cellular or wireless coupling. In this example, the coupling mayimplement any of a variety of types of data transfer technology, such asSingle Carrier Radio Transmission Technology (1×RTT), Evolution-DataOptimized (EVDO) technology, General Packet Radio Service (GPRS)technology, Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE) technology,third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) including 3G, fourthgeneration wireless (4G) networks, Universal Mobile TelecommunicationsSystem (UMTS), High Speed Packet Access (HSPA), WorldwideInteroperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX), Long Term Evolution (LTE)standard, others defined by various standard setting organizations,other long range protocols, or other data transfer technology.

“EMPHEMERAL MESSAGE” in this context refers to a message that isaccessible for a time-limited duration. An ephemeral message may be atext, an image, a video and the like. The access time for the ephemeralmessage may be set by the message sender. Alternatively, the access timemay be a default setting or a setting specified by the recipient.Regardless of the setting technique, the message is transitory.

“MACHINE-READABLE MEDIUM” in this context refers to a component, deviceor other tangible media able to store instructions and data temporarilyor permanently and may include, but is not be limited to, random-accessmemory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), buffer memory, flash memory,optical media, magnetic media, cache memory, other types of storage(e.g., Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory (EEPROM)) and/or anysuitable combination thereof. The term “machine-readable medium” shouldbe taken to include a single medium or multiple media (e.g., acentralized or distributed database, or associated caches and servers)able to store instructions. The tern “machine-readable medium” shallalso be taken to include any medium, or combination of multiple media,that is capable of storing instructions (e.g., code) for execution by amachine, such that the instructions, when executed by one or moreprocessors of the machine, cause the machine to perform any one or moreof the methodologies described herein. Accordingly, a “machine-readablemedium” refers to a single storage apparatus or device, as well as“cloud-based” storage systems or storage networks that include multiplestorage apparatus or devices. The term “machine-readable medium”excludes signals per se.

“COMPONENT” in this context refers to a device, physical entity or logichaving boundaries defined by function or subroutine calls, branchpoints, application program interfaces (APIs), or other technologiesthat provide for the partitioning or modularization of particularprocessing or control functions. Components may be combined via theirinterfaces with other components to carry out a machine process. Acomponent may be a packaged functional hardware unit designed for usewith other components and a part of a program that usually performs aparticular function of related functions. Components may constituteeither software components (e.g., code embodied on a machine-readablemedium) or hardware components. A “hardware component” is a tangibleunit capable of performing certain operations and may be configured orarranged in a certain physical manner. In various example embodiments,one or more computer systems (e.g., a standalone computer system, aclient computer system, or a server computer system) or one or morehardware components of a computer system (e.g., a processor or a groupof processors) may be configured by software (e.g., an application orapplication portion) as a hardware component that operates to performcertain operations as described herein. A hardware component may also beimplemented mechanically, electronically, or any suitable combinationthereof. For example, a hardware component may include dedicatedcircuitry or logic that is permanently configured to perform certainoperations. A hardware component may be a special-purpose processor,such as a Field-Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) or an ApplicationSpecific Integrated Circuit (ASIC). A hardware component may alsoinclude programmable logic or circuitry that is temporarily configuredby software to perform certain operations. For example, a hardwarecomponent may include software executed by a general-purpose processoror other programmable processor. Once configured by such software,hardware components become specific machines (or specific components ofa machine) uniquely tailored to perform the configured functions and areno longer general-purpose processors. It will be appreciated that thedecision to implement a hardware component mechanically, in dedicatedand permanently configured circuitry, or in temporarily configuredcircuitry (e.g., configured by software) may be driven by cost and timeconsiderations. Accordingly, the phrase “hardware component”(or“hardware-implemented component”) should be understood to encompass atangible entity, be that an entity that is physically constructed,permanently configured (e.g., hardwired), or temporarily configured(e.g., programmed) to operate in a certain manner or to perform certainoperations described herein. Considering embodiments in which hardwarecomponents are temporarily configured (e.g., programmed), each of thehardware components need not be configured or instantiated at any oneinstance in time. For example, where a hardware component comprises ageneral-purpose processor configured by software to become aspecial-purpose processor, the general-purpose processor may beconfigured as respectively different special-purpose processors (e.g.,comprising different hardware components) at different times. Softwareaccordingly configures a particular processor or processors, forexample, to constitute a particular hardware component at one instanceof time and to constitute a different hardware component at a differentinstance of time. Hardware components can provide information to, andreceive information from, other hardware components. Accordingly, thedescribed hardware components may be regarded as being communicativelycoupled. Where multiple hardware components exist contemporaneously,communications may be achieved through signal transmission (e.g., overappropriate circuits and buses) between or among two or more of thehardware components, In embodiments in which multiple hardwarecomponents are configured or instantiated at different times,communications between such hardware components may be achieved, forexample, through the storage and retrieval of information in memorystructures to which the multiple hardware components have access. Forexample, one hardware component may perform an operation and store theoutput of that operation in a memory device to which it iscommunicatively coupled. A further hardware component may then, at alater time, access the memory device to retrieve and process the storedoutput. Hardware components may also initiate communications with inputor output devices, and can operate on a resource (e.g., a collection ofinformation). The various operations of example methods described hereinmay be performed, at least partially, by one or more processors that aretemporarily configured (e.g., by software) or permanently configured toperform the relevant operations. Whether temporarily or permanentlyconfigured, such processors may constitute processor-implementedcomponents that operate to perform one or more operations or functionsdescribed herein. As used herein, “processor-implemented component”refers to a hardware component implemented using one or more processors.Similarly, the methods described herein may be at least partiallyprocessor-implemented, with a particular processor or processors beingan example of hardware. For example, at least some of the operations ofa method may be performed by one or more processors orprocessor-implemented components. Moreover, the one or more processorsmay also operate to support performance of the relevant operations in a“cloud computing” environment or as a “software as a service” (SaaS).For example, at least some of the operations may be performed by a groupof computers (as examples of machines including processors), with theseoperations being accessible via a network (e.g., the Internet) and viaone or more appropriate interfaces (e.g., an Application ProgramInterface (API)). The performance of certain of the operations may bedistributed among the processors, not only residing within a singlemachine, but deployed across a number of machines. In some exampleembodiments, the processors or processor-implemented components may belocated in a single geographic location (e.g., within a homeenvironment, an office environment, or a server farm). In other exampleembodiments, the processors or processor-implemented components may bedistributed across a number of geographic locations.

“PROCESSOR” in this context refers to any circuit or virtual circuit (aphysical circuit emulated by logic executing on an actual processor)that manipulates data values according to control signals (e.g.,“commands”, “op codes”, “machine code”, etc.) and which producescorresponding output signals that are applied to operate a machine. Aprocessor may, for example, be a Central Processing Unit (CPU), aReduced Instruction Set Computing (RISC) processor, a ComplexInstruction Set Computing (CISC) processor, a Graphics Processing Unit(GPU), a Digital Signal Processor (DSP), an Application SpecificIntegrated Circuit (ASIC), a Radio-Frequency Integrated Circuit (RFIC)or any combination thereof. A processor may further be a multi-coreprocessor having two or more independent processors (sometimes referredto as “cores”) that may execute instructions contemporaneously.

“TIMESTAMP” in this context refers to a sequence of characters orencoded information identifying when a certain event occurred, forexample giving date and time of day, sometimes accurate to a smallfraction of a second.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method comprising: causing display of mediacontent within a graphical user interface (GUI), the media contentcomprising a set of media attributes; detecting the set of mediaattributes of the media content; generating a menu element based on theset of media attributes of the media content; and causing display of themenu element at a position within the GUI.
 2. The method of claim 1,wherein the media content comprises an ephemeral message.
 3. The methodof claim 1, further comprising: receiving an input that selects the menuelement; and causing display of a secondary menu element that comprisesa presentation of at least a portion of the set of media attributes ofthe media content.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the menu elementcomprises a plurality of icons, and the generating the menu elementfurther comprises: generating the plurality of icons based on the set ofmedia attributes.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein the media contentfurther comprises video content, and wherein the generating the menuelement further comprises: presenting a media control element at withinthe menu element based on the video content.
 6. The method of claim 1,wherein the position of the menu element is at a bottom portion of theGUI.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein the media content furthercomprises a query that comprises a request for a binary response, andwherein the generating the menu element further comprises: presenting aset of options within the menu element based on the query.
 8. A systemcomprising: a memory; and at least one hardware processor coupled to thememory and comprising instructions that causes the system to performoperations comprising: causing display of media content within agraphical user interface (GUI), the media content comprising a set ofmedia attributes; detecting the set of media attributes of the mediacontent; generating a menu element based on the set of media attributesof the media content; and causing display of the menu element at aposition within the GUI.
 9. The system of claim 8, wherein the mediacontent comprises an ephemeral message.
 10. The system of claim 8,further comprising: receiving an input that selects the menu element;and causing display of a secondary menu element that comprises apresentation of at least a portion of the set of media attributes of themedia content.
 11. The system of claim 8, wherein the menu elementcomprises a plurality of icons, and the generating the menu elementfurther comprises: generating the plurality of icons based on the set ofmedia attributes.
 12. The system of claim 8, wherein the media contentfurther comprises video content, and wherein the generating the menuelement further comprises: presenting a media control element at withinthe menu element based on the video content.
 13. The system of claim 8,wherein the position of the menu element is at a bottom portion of theGUI.
 14. The system of claim 8, wherein the media content furthercomprises a query that comprises a request for a binary response, andwherein the generating the menu element further comprises: presenting aset of options within the menu element based on the query.
 15. Anon-transitory machine-readable storage medium comprising instructionsthat, when executed by one or more processors of a machine, cause themachine to perform operations comprising: causing display of mediacontent within a graphical user interface (GUI), the media contentcomprising a set of media attributes; detecting the set of mediaattributes of the media content; generating a menu element based on theset of media attributes of the media content; and causing display of themenu element at a position within the GUI.
 16. The non-transitorymachine-readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein the media contentcomprises an ephemeral message.
 17. The non-transitory machine-readablestorage medium of claim 15, further comprising: receiving an input thatselects the menu element; and causing display of a secondary menuelement that comprises a presentation of at least a portion of the setof media attributes of the media content.
 18. The non-transitorymachine-readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein the menu elementcomprises a plurality of icons, and the generating the menu elementfurther comprises: generating the plurality of icons based on the set ofmedia attributes.
 19. The non-transitory machine-readable storage mediumof claim 15, wherein the media content further comprises video content,and wherein the generating the menu element further comprises:presenting a media control element at within the menu element based onthe video content.
 20. The non-transitory machine-readable storagemedium of claim 15, wherein the position of the menu element is at abottom portion of the GUI.